this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I never recommend Mint! It’s like it became this de facto distro to steer newbies toward just because it sort of kind of looks like Windows? Elementary OS is simple, polished, elegant and in a good way less customizable so the user can just get to work.
Alternatively if they want something more familiar like the start menu there’s KDE on Ubuntu or OpenSUSE, among others.
Mint was impressive like fifteen years ago; it’s still fine, but nothing in particular makes it more appealing than some of the ones I mentioned which have significant advantages.
Linux Mint has a very good track record thanks to their "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" mentality and user friendliness. That's why people still recommend it. With the rapid developments around gaming related software, their mentality works against them.
Do you really need fresh system packages? Outside of the kernel the desktop shouldn't impact the experience much.
In the last year I was intentionally using beta packages of KDE Plasma to get stuff like touchpad gestures early. Even now, Plasma makes important developments like HDR and explicit sync so yes, it still matters.
Yes it does. Your whole display server is your desktop/WM when using Wayland. Using the newer versions you get things like VRR, HDR, fractional display scaling and so on.
Elementary and OpenSUSE are problematic for so many reasons. Linux Mint is stable and reliable.